Lost Coast Trail: Day 4

 Tuesday July 3, 2012: Spillz, Kyle, and I woke up at the still windy Nick's Camp, and set out for our final destination at Needle Rock. The trail began to take us off the ridge, while offering incredible views of the coastline to the south and the ocean.

We continued hiking through Douglas Fir forest, and the air became noticeably more humid the lower in elevation we hiked. Pretty soon, we were walking through what seemed like a jungle. I could hike through forest like this forever.

It didn't take long before we were walking along the grassland again. The three of us were hoping to catch sight of some Roosevelt Elk that were transported here from Prairie Creek not too long ago. The original herds of Roosevelt Elk were hunted to extinction in this area in the 1800's. We saw plenty of scat, but no elk unfortunately.

The trail took us briefly through a small eucalyptus tree forest. Before long, we could see the Needle Rock Visitor Center off in the distance and new that our hike was coming to a close. It was about 12:00. Perfect time.

 After posing for a victory photo and packing up the car, we headed north once again to reach our other vehicle parked in Mattole. Before reaching Mattolle, there were two young women hitchhiking to Mattolle form the small town of Honeydew. They flagged us down and begged for a ride. The reason they were hitchhiking is because one of the woman did the same thing Spillz and I did last year while hiking the Skunk Train tracks. They had left the other vehicles keys in the glove compartment of the other vehicle! Again, if you are planning on executing the two car method, REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR KEYS FROM BOTH VEHICLES! We happily gave them a ride.

After dropping Spillz and Kyle off at their vehicle in Mattole, we said our goodbyes. I was looking forward to stealth camping in the redwoods for the night, rather than driving home. Overall, it was a great trip.